Time After Time
by speedycanary
Summary: 10 years after the events of Out Of Time, Vi and Sean are living a comfortable life in New York City with their son. Logan arrives out of the blue, seeking her help with his mission to change the future. Soon, her present is in jeopardy as well. Can her family and friends be saved? Or are certain events destined to happen?
1. 10 Years

New York City. January, 1973

The City That Never Sleeps. It was certainly living up to its name that night. Cars were jam packed on the streets, and pedestrians were hustling down the sidewalk, even though it was well after two in the morning. Vi took in a deep breath of the ice cold air and released it as she strolled, watching the fog it caused disappear in the wind. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body, even though the leather didn't do much to shield her from the cold. It may have been a blessing, because it was keeping her alert long enough to power through the exhaustion and get home. Another waitress called out, leaving her to work a double shift. Any other day, she wouldn't have been upset about getting more hours, but today was important.

As she was lost in thought, she nearly walked right past the house. Fishing out the keys from her pocket, she hurried up the steps and quickly unlocked the front door. She stepped in, greeted by a comfortable warmth and the scent of tomato sauce. Her stomach grumbled as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. "Lucy, I'm home," she quietly called out.

Vi moved further into the living room, looking around until she saw Sean poke his head out of the kitchen with a grin. "Hey, babe. I was just making some dinner for you."

She joined him in the small space, watching as he stirred the pasta. With a smile, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks, you're the best." He blushed a deep red, making her smile grow. "Happy birthday, Sean. Did you two have fun today?"

"Yeah. We went to the park, we got ice cream, and then Darwin came over. 'Lex was exhausted by the time Darwin left. He fell asleep before he could tell me that I don't do the voices right." Sean chuckled as he turned the stove off.

"Hey, it's not your fault that I make an amazing Gandalf." Her smile faded as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you guys today."

Sean stopped transferring the pasta into a bowl, and turned his head to look at her. "Well, you're here now."

Looking into his soft brown eyes made her heart leap, but before she could kiss him, he went back to filling her bowl. He held it up to her. "You should eat. I can hear your stomach growling."

She released him and gratefully took the bowl as they headed into the living room. With a relieved sigh, she kicked off her shoes and flopped down onto the couch. Sean sat next to her and slung his arm over the back of her seat. "I haven't ate all day." She twirled the noodles on the fork and not so gracefully shoved them in her mouth.

"They didn't give you a break?" Usually they couldn't with how busy it was, but he had hoped they would since she worked a double shift. Apparently, that was too much to ask.

"Nope. It was pretty steady today. My manager knew how pissed I was, so I'm surprised she didn't try to butter me up. Not that it would have changed anything." Vi rolled her eyes. The girls that called out had made their dislike of her pretty clear from the start, so she knew that the whole thing had been on purpose. She would have decked them both long ago, but they weren't worth the trouble. Especially not now that she had a family to worry about.

Sean knew the situation, and it bothered him just as much, "You should quit. I make enough to support us." He played piano in one of the nicest clubs in the city, which netted him a good amount of cash every night.

"I'm not the stay at home mom type." She shrugged before eating some more of her spaghetti.

He sighed. "I know, but that place is bad for you."

"It's not forever, though. I've dealt with worse people." Vi assured him with a small smile. Once she finished the last of her food, she got up and went to put her bowl in the sink. She came back into the living room and yawned, her fatigue catching up with her again. For the first time since she arrived at home, she caught the heavy smell of grease coming from her. "Ugh. I'm taking a shower."

She grabbed a towel from the hall closet and entered the bathroom. With a groan, she leaned over to turn on the water before slipping off her clothes. The hot water that hit her as she stepped in made her sigh. It didn't make the aches and pains go away, but it helped. Not even thirty, and she already felt like an old woman some days.

After a while, she shut off the shower and reluctantly came out. The house was warm, but after the scalding hot water, it felt no different than the winter weather. She dried off and put on her robe, wrapping it tightly around her.

Upon entering the bedroom, she found Sean sitting in the bed. He noticed her shivering as she changed from her robe to one of his sweaters and a pair of flannel pants, and moved to lay down. Quickly, to not let out too much of the heat, she got under the blanket and snuggled into Sean's side. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

One thing Vi loved about Sean was that he was practically a radiator. That, paired with the fact that he could never resist cuddling, meant that she never stayed cold for long. She tilted her head up to look at him, only to find his eyes closed.

Sean wasn't what you'd call 'classically attractive'. He didn't have a chiseled jaw or huge muscles, but Vi didn't care about that one bit. He was soft and sweet, messy orange curls framing his freckled face. To her, he was the most beautiful person in the world. Her fingers trailed up his chest and neck to his cheek, which she brushed softly, finally making his eyes flutter open. All there was on his face was confusion until he noticed the familiar fire in her eyes.

She bit her lip and pressed her body closer to his. "You know...there's another way to warm me up. Wanna try it?"

Suddenly, he moved the both of them so he was on top of her, one hand supporting his weight, and the other cupping her face. "Do you even have to ask?" Without waiting for an answer, he dipped down and kissed her hard, showing her that he returned her passion in kind.

Sleep could wait a little while.

* * *

A sliver of sun filtering through the curtain hit Vi right in the eyes, bringing her reluctantly out of her sleep. She turned over and threw out her arm to meet only the cold sheet. Yawning, she sat up and stumbled around the room to search for her clothes and put them on.

As she opened the bedroom door, the sound of cartoons and quiet laughter hit her. A smile crept onto her lips as she tip-toed down the hall. What she found as she reached the living room was her two favorite boys sitting on the couch, eating cereal and watching The Jetsons. She leaned against the wall, content to watch for a moment.

A decade ago, she never would have imagined herself with a family of her own. After all that she had lost, it just seemed like something that could never be. She discovered that she was pregnant in 1965, just before Charles closed the school, and suffice to say, she was terrified. Sean, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Together, they figured it out, and the last seven years had been some of the best of her life.

Alexander's head peeked over the back of the couch and he flashed her a wide grin, showing off his few missing teeth. "Mommy!" He jumped from his seat and ran over to hug her tightly. She almost fell backwards from the impact. "I missed you!"

"Hey, sweetie. I missed you, too!" Vi ruffled his curls, making him giggle. "I heard you and Daddy had fun yesterday."

"Yeah! Uncle Darwin came to visit." Alexander smiled, though it faltered slightly as he thought of his Uncle Alex, who had left nearly two years before. His parents wouldn't tell him where he was, but he had a feeling it was a bad place.

Vi kneeled down to his level, knowing exactly why his expression suddenly changed and his eyes got glassy. The boy loved his uncles to death, and Alex being in Vietnam hurt him just as much as it did the adults in his life. "Uncle Alex will be back soon, 'Lex," She whispered, lightly squeezing his shoulder.

"Promise?" Alexander asked almost silently.

She met Sean's sad eyes for a moment, then turned back to their son. "Promise. He's one of the toughest people I know."

Alex had been through a lot. He was bounced around several foster homes before he wound up in prison. He never went into specifics and neither Vi nor Sean had asked. All they knew was that it was bad. Alex was tough, yes, but the war was too. Everything they'd seen in the news, all the history lessons she had sat through, it terrified them. Alex would surely come back a changed man, if he came back at all.

When Alex had first been drafted, Sean was devastated. The war was in full swing at that point, so it was only a matter of time before it happened. Due to Sean's odd immigration status, he wasn't drafted, but he didn't want his best friend to go off alone. Alex and Darwin, who had been unable to volunteer or be drafted because he was legally dead, both reminded him that he had a son to worry about first and foremost. Sean knew this, but he still regretted not having Alex's back when he needed him most.

Alexander sniffled and managed a smile. "Yeah."

Vi mirrored his smile and stood up, taking his small hand. "Come on, you're missing your cartoon."

They made it to the couch and he flopped down, but before Vi could sit down with him, Sean spoke up. "Hey, I need to talk to you for a second."

She gauged his expression for a moment, then headed for the kitchen. He follwed her and shut the door behind them. Vi leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's up?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh, Hank called about an hour ago."

They hadn't heard from Hank or Charles in at least three years. She was surprised he still had their number. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. It's just," Sean shifted slightly, "He said they have a visitor."

"Oh. Someone I know?" Vi didn't see how it could be. Basically everyone she knew in this time was either at the school, fighting the war, or dead. So why had Hank called them, and why did Sean find it so important to tell her?

"Hank called him Logan, and from the description, he sounds a lot like your friend."

She straightened up and dropped her arms to her sides. A smile began to form on her face before the reality set in. "He doesn't know me yet."

"That's the thing. He does." Sean paused for a moment before adding, "He asked for you specifically."

"That makes no sense." She frowned.

"Neither does a girl from fifty years in the future suddenly showing up on your doorstep, but that happened."

"Shit, you're right." It had been so long that she sometimes forgot that that was indeed how they had met. "But how is he here? Why is he here? I don't understand."

"Hank said they'll explain when you get to the mansion." Sean was visibly tense.

"When I get to the-?" Vi weighed it all in her head. If Logan was there, something important must have been happening, but important also meant dangerous when it came to the X-Men. If she went, she could get hurt or worse. One look at Sean told her how he felt. He didn't want her to go, and she understood. "I'm not going."

"W-what?"

"You guys need me, and I won't risk this family. Whatever it is, they can do it without me." Part of her was disappointed. It missed the fight, the thrill of being an X-Man.

Sean studied her face and a heaviness began to form in his stomach. She was right. If she went, there a was a chance of her not coming back, whether it was by her choice or not. He had worried for a while that she might go back to the future if she got the chance, and be gone just as fast as she had appeared all those years ago. Of course, the rational part of him told him that she would never do that, but he was still afraid. He managed to swallow that fear and take her hand, theading their fingers together. "I think you should go."

Vi raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "I think you should go see your friend and help him with whatever he's here for, but I need you to promise me something." She tilted her head slightly, urging him on. "Come back."

"How can we be sure I can keep that promise?"

Sean thought for a moment, then took inspiration from her words from a few minutes before. "You're the toughest person I know."

Vi took a deep breath and smiled back at him. "Okay...I'm gonna do it."


	2. Family Feud

_The Xavier Mansion. Salem Center, NY._

The school was, to put it simply, a mess. Ivy completely covered the old brick walls, and the crumbled fountain at the entrance had seen better days. The grass had grown over waist height, and Vi shook her head at the thought of how many snakes were probably hiding in there. If she didn't know better, she would think the place was abandoned.

But she did know better, so she stepped up to the front door. With a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles on the hard wood a few times. Several moments later, the door swung open to reveal Hank, but not as she had last seen him. He was no longer blue and beastly, but pale and lanky, just as he had been when she showed up 11 years before. "Hank? You're-"

Hank cut in, knowing that she hadn't seen him since he perfected the serum. "Not blue? Yeah. I have it under control now."

"Huh." Part of her was disappointed that Hank was hiding himself, but she knew it wouldn't be forever. She smiled, moving forward to hug him. "It's good to see you again, Hank."

He hugged her back awkwardly, since he had to work around the duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "You, too. We have a lot of catching up to do." Hank pulled away and stepped back to let her into the house.

"We do, but right now, I'd like to know why exactly I'm here." She entered the house and took it all in. The inside wasn't nearly as bad as the outside, but everything had a thick layer of dust, and the place smelled quite musty. Hank nearly said something, but another voice interrupted first.

"Long time no see, kid."

Vi's head whipped around to the base of the stairs to find Logan standing there. After a moment of silence, she grinned brightly. "Logan!" She ran and threw herself at him in a hug. If Logan hadn't been so strong, she probably would have knocked him to the ground. Logan patted her on the back before she pulled away and rubbed her clavicle. Colliding so violently with him maybe hadn't been the best idea. "I can't believe you're here! What the hell is going on?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way to D.C." Logan grumbled. He did not look forward to the five hour drive, not in the slightest.

* * *

"Why the hell would you think this is a good idea? This is a horrible, horrible idea." If Hank had told her that they wanted to break Erik out of the _Pentagon,_ she would have stayed home.

Logan agreed, she could tell, but there was a lot riding on it."Charles and Erik said we needed him to get through to Mystique."

"Charles? But how?" Professor Xavier was dead. She went to his funeral, and fought with the X-Men to carry on his dream. It wasn't something she could forget. Charles frowned at her reaction, but quickly shrugged it off.

He was silent for a moment, as if somewhere else entirely. "Later. Right now, we need to worry about getting this kid to help us."

He was right, so she decided to ask him again later. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

"Yeah, you do." Logan turned his attention to Hank. "Here, here, here."

"Where?" Charles asked.

"Just stop here." Logan ordered in annoyance.

"Alright, alright." Charles mumbled defensively as the car came to a rough stop, jerking them all forward in their seats.

"Next time, I'm driving." Logan growled as he turned to get out of the car, but stopped as he saw Vi staring at the house they had arrived at.

"How do you know him?" She asked quietly as Hank and Charles exited the car. "He's dead in our time."

"Your aunt went crazy and brought him back to life for a while. That's a long story, too." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You sure you can handle this, kid?"

"Yeah. Let's go." They got out and headed to the front door with Hank and Charles.

Logan knocked, and Vi looked down at the welcome mat, a smile coming on as she saw the worn and black spot in the middle. The door swung open and her head shot up. There stood her grandmother, much younger than when she knew her, but still recognizable. She had a look of exasperation, and from the stories she had told her about her father's younger days, she knew why. "What's he done now? I'll just write you a check for whatever he took."

"We just need to talk to him." Logan explained, and she stepped back to let them inside.

"Peter! The cops are here!...Again." She added with a sigh.

The four of them went down the stairs and into the basement. The wall was covered in band posters and the room filled to the brim with obviously stolen stuff. There, Peter buzzed about, playing table tennis with himself. "What do you guys want? I didn't do anything." Suddenly, he sat on the couch, eating a popsicle. "I've been here all day."

Logan was first to speak, "Just relax, Peter. We're not cops."

"Of course you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be driving a rental car." Peter replied nonchalantly.

Charles frowned. "How did you know we've got a rental car?"

"I checked your registration when you were walking to the door. I also had some time to kill so I went through your rental agreement. Saw you were from out of town. Are you FBI?" With a quick zipping sound, Peter swiped Charles' wallet and rifled thorough through it. He pulled out a business card and squinted at it. "No, you're not cops. Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters place?" He dropped the wallet and card to the floor.

"That's an old card." Charles mumbled as he picked up his things.

Peter appeared in front of Vi. "Cool jacket."

"Th-thanks." She managed with a smile, before pulling the silver leather closer to her body. He moved away again.

Hank grinned, "He's fascinating."

"He's a pain in the ass." Charles replied, and she smirked. It definitely ran in the family.

Ignoring the comment, Hank turned to Logan. "Teleporter?"

Logan shook his head. "No, he just fast. And when I knew him he wasn't so... young."

Peter stopped in front of them, blowing everyone's hair back. "Young? You're just old."

"So you're not afraid to show your powers?" Hank asked, making Vi glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What powers? What're you talking about? Do you see something strange here? Nothing anybody would believe if you told them." Peter zoomed over to the arcade cabinet in the corner and began to play an abnormally fast game of Pong with himself. "So, who are you? What do you want?"

"We need your help, Peter." Logan was annoyed, but not nearly as much as Charles.

"For what?"

"To break into a highly secured facility... and to get someone out," Logan explained.

"Prison break? That's illegal, you know." Vi knew he was intrigued. Her father had told her a lot of stories about his youth, and the state of the basement only confirmed it.

Logan noticed that too as he looked around at all the stolen twinkies and various other items stacked around the room. "Well, only if you get caught."

"So, what's in it for me?" Peter furiously hit the buttons and moved the joystick.

Charles was the one that answered next, "You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the Pentagon."

Peter stopped playing and turned to look at the four of them. Vi nearly laughed out loud. He was in. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because we're just like you."

Charles turned to Logan. "Show him."

Logan raised one hand and slowly made his claws come out. Peter scrunched his face up. "That's cool, but it's disgusting."

Vi stared at the claws, mouth agape. They weren't sleek and shiny like she was used to. Instead, they were rough and bony. "Huh. They used to be cooler."

* * *

Sean watched from the couch as Alexander played with his action figures enthusiastically, smashing them together and making his own battle sound effects. He shook his head with a smile as the boy switched voices with each toy. When he was younger, he didn't see himself having kids or a family, but now, he couldn't imagine life without his son or...

Vi had called him not even an hour ago. She informed him that they were in DC and had hatched an insane plan to break Erik out of jail, that somehow included her father. He had the feeling that it wouldn't end well.

"You're still worried." It wasn't even a question. Darwin knew. He could read people pretty well already, but he and Sean had been friends for so long that he barely had to try.

Sean snapped out of it and turned to his friend, who sat near him on the couch. "Worried is probably an understatement."

"Well, you and I both know that she can take care of herself."

"Yeah," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "I just can't help thinking about Dallas. If we'd gotten to the mansion any later, she would've died."

"I know, Sean, but-"

A loud boom cut Darwin off, and the front of the house was blasted inwards, knocking them all back. Sean's head hit the wooden floor with a crack, but he ignored the pain as he sat up to look for his son. "ALEX!"

He heard his voice softly replying and ran towards the hallway to find Alexander sitting up on the floor. He dropped to his knees and frantically checked the boy over. "Are you hurt?!" He shook his head and Sean breathed a sigh of relief.

Sean turned around to see Darwin standing in front of the giant hole that exposed the living room to the street. A shadowy figure came closer, stepping over what used to be the door and revealing himself in the light. Though he was much older than Sean remembered, the jet black curls and green eyes gave him away.

Stumbling slightly, Sean stood up and moved closer. "Tom?"

The man smirked, his thick Irish accent coming out when he finally spoke. "Hello, cousin."

"What the hell are you doing here?" After the way they left things, he never thought he'd see Tom again.

"Well, I was coming here to kill you, but they gave me a much better option. I can turn you over to Stryker, and let you suffer before you die. Either way, I still get what I want." He stepped forward, twirling the wooden staff he held in his hand.

"You won't be doing anything." Darwin charged at him, but was hit back by another energy blast. The boy whimpered as he found his uncle a few feet away. His skin had changed, so he knew he was okay, but he was still afraid for him and his dad. With a look from Sean, Darwin got up and came over to block the boy from Tom.

"Oh, is that so? We may be immune to each other's powers, but you remember what happened the last time we fought, Sean." Tom's tone was taunting, something Sean had grown used to when they were kids.

"It won't happen again, trust me." He turned his head slightly, not taking his eyes off of Tom. "Darwin, get him out of here."

"Are you sure?"

"Go!"

Darwin turned around and scooped Alex up before running through the opening in the wall.

"NO! DADDY!" Alex screamed as he tried to wiggle out of Darwin's grip.

A sick grin made its way onto Tom's face as Alex's cries faded away. "'Daddy'? Lovely. When I'm done with you, I'll find your little bastard and kill him, too."

Something snapped in Sean, his blood boiling almost instantly. "You can threaten me all you want, but you _do not_ get to threaten my son." He tackled the man to the ground and punched him in the jaw, making him drop the staff.

Tom cackled as blood ran from his mouth. He threw Sean off of him and stood up. "It seems I've struck a nerve. If only you'd protected Maeve so fiercely." Sean pushed himself off of the floor and Tom kneed him right in the stomach. "Instead, you just left her to die and settled for some American _whore_."

"Shut. Up." Sean groaned. He swung at Tom again, landing right at his nose and eliciting a crunch.

He cried out in pain and lunged for Sean as he yelled, "After everything you did, my father still left Cassidy Keep to _you_!" Tom slammed him to the ground and squeezed his hands around his neck. "You threw away your family, your country, and he still loved you more than his own son! First you got Maeve, now you've got the Keep." His grip became tighter. "You took _everything_ from me!"

Sean struggled to breathe as he felt the floor next to him, finally making contact with what he wanted. He grabbed the staff and swung it up, knocking Tom to the side. Quickly, he rolled over and pinned him down, still trying to catch his breath. "That's what this is about? I don't want the Keep!"

"I don't care. I just want you dead," he spat. Tom brought his hand up to Sean's neck, and he felt a small stinging there. He watched Tom drop a tranquilizer dart on the floor. The dizziness came instantly, and he swayed a little before landing on the floor. "That's all I've ever wanted," Tom's distorted voice whispered as he sat up. Sean noticed a large figure standing where Tom entered before. "Cain, if you could pick him up, please?"

The man came closer as Sean's vision faded to black.

* * *

 **Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait, but I've had a lot going on since I posted the first chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to post pretty regularly now.**


	3. Prison Break

**I POSTED THE WRONG CHAPTER O_O**

* * *

 _The Pentagon. Washington, D.C._

"I can't believe we're doing this." Vi whispered to Hank as they followed the tour group. They feigned interest in the information that the guide was giving, until Logan and Charles splintered off.

"Me either." Hank carefully reached down to his radio and fiddled with some dials until he seemed to be satisfied.

They stood in silence for a moment until she glanced over at him. "I also can't believe you wore that outfit. You look like a dork."

Hank sighed, "At least I look the part. _You_ look like you're in one of those punk bands."

"Wow, Hank. I forgot how much of an old man you are." She smiled at him, which he shyly returned.

A moment later, Hank went for the radio once again and turned a dial. This triggered the sprinklers. Logan and Charles were either in the kitchen or nearly there, and Peter no doubt already had Erik out of his cell. No alarms had gone off so far, so they must have been trying to keep things calm with all of the civilians inside. The two of them had to wait until Peter picked them up, so they kept moving with the tour.

"So how long have you been...not Beast?" Vi asked, fiddling with the zipper of her jacket.

He stayed silent for a moment. "...About five years. The serum didn't cure me completely. I can still change at will."

The use of the word _cure_ made her uneasy. "And you've been giving it to Charles too. That was a terrible idea, Hank. He's basically a junkie."

"You don't understand. He got worse after the four of you left."

She scoffed. "That's hard to imagine."

"Not for me." Hank mumbled. His defeated expression made her feel a twinge of guilt. Hank had been forced to deal with the worst parts of Charles' downward spiral all on his own.

"I'm sorry, Hank. You didn't deserve that." Hank didn't reply, he merely turned his attention back to the guide. In the blink of an eye, Hank was gone. Soon, she was too.

They all stood out by the car. Vi watched as the other four gagged and clutched their stomachs. Peter raised an eyebrow when he noticed that she seemed unphased. "Well that's a first."

Logan pushed Erik into the car, which clearly pissed him off. Hank and Vi piled in after him, leaving the other three to sit in the front. Peter glanced into the small space they would have to share and instead pulled his goggles over his eyes. "I'll just meet you at the plane."

* * *

As Charles sent Peter off with the car, Logan made his way up the steps and into the cabin of the plane. He slipped into the seat across from Vi, who was staring out the window. He looked at her curiously, but she didn't seem to notice.

Erik followed soon after, and attempted to take the newpaper that sat on the table in front of the man, which Logan prevented by using his claws.

"Imagine if they were metal." Erik taunted before taking a seat on the longer couch. "Where did they dig you up?"

"You're going to find this hard to believe," Logan moved a little in his seat, "But you sent me. You and Charles. From the future."

Erik looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then turned to Vi. "So he's one of yours."

"I guess you could say that," she sighed, leaning her head against the headrest.

* * *

Charles and Erik argued, leaving Logan and Vi to try and ignore them. She focused on the newspaper, which Logan had let her take without a fight. All she wanted was to talk to Logan about everything that had happened in their time after she disappeared, but the others being there made it too risky. They had decided to catch up when they had privacy. _If_ they had privacy.

Suddenly Charles stood up, and Logan growled at him, "Sit down!"

"Let him come," Erik also stood as well, leaving him face to face with Charles.

Charles grabbed Erik by the front of his shirt. "You abandoned me! You took her away and you abandoned me!"

"Angel." Erik's face contorted in anger as he continued. "Azazel. Emma. Riptide. Mutant brothers and sisters, all dead!" The plane began to shake, and the metal groaned loudly. Soon, the plane tilted over, throwing Charles into the wall, and making mess of anything that wasn't bolted down. Vi and Logan grabbed the arm rests of their seats so they wouldn't end up like Charles. "Countless others experimented on, butchered!" Erik continued.

"Erik!" Hank called out from the pilot seat, no doubt trying to get the plane back in order.

"Where were you, Charles?!" Erik bellowed. "We were supposed to _protect_ them! Where were you when your own people needed you?! Hiding! You and Hank! Pretending to be something you're not! You abandoned us all!"

"ERIK!" Hank yelled again, and this time, Erik obliged. Hank quickly righted the plane as Erik finished.

"You abandoned us _all_!"

With a glare, Charles stalked off to the cockpit to join Hank. Logan quickly recovered and grabbed a cigar. "So you were always an asshole."

Any other time, Vi would have laughed at that, but Erik brought back the memory of Dallas, something she had tried hard to forget. The reminder that she had watched Angel and Azazel get gunned down by the government made her stomach turn.

"I take it we're best buddies in the future." Erik replied sarcastically as he turned to face Logan.

Logan lit his cigar with a low chuckle. "I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub."

"How does that work out for you?"

"You're like me. You're a survivor." Logan took a puff of his cigar and let out the smoke. "You wanna pick all that shit up?"

Erik stared at him for a moment before he began to clean up the items that littered the floor. After a moment's consideration, Vi got up from her seat walked over. She knelt down next to him and picked up a few plates from the floor, stacking them all together.

He looked at her with slight confusion, unsure why she would bother. "Why are you helping?"

"Bored, I guess." She shrugged as she placed the stack of plates on one of the tables.

Erik used his power to gather all of the metal pots and utensils, and pulled the cabinets open with the metal handles, so he could put it all away. "You're not hiding."

"I've never been into hiding who I am," She grabbed the chessboard from the floor and began to gather the pieces."But I'm no better than Charles and Hank. I haven't helped any mutants either, not since the school was shut down."

"That's...disappointing."

Normally, she would have told him that she didn't care for his approval, but she knew he was right. Hell, she was disappointed in herself. "My family came first." She sighed heavily. "Look, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right. Charles did give up, but everyone has their limits, Erik, and not everone can take as much shit as you and I can. He's been through so much, just...try and take it easy on him, okay?" She gestured to the chessboard as she put it back in its place on the table. "Maybe start with that. I know you guys always liked to play."

Erik glanced at the board, then back to her, before focusing his attention back to the mess. They continued on in silence.

* * *

Darwin hung up the phone again, growing more and more frustrated by the minute. He had been trying to reach Vi, or Hank, or _anyone_ , since last night. They clearly finished their job in D.C., since Erik's escape from the Pentagon was all over the news. Apparently they still weren't back at the mansion.

He walked back into his second bedroom to check on Alexander again. The boy only managed to fight off sleep for so long before he passed out on the bed. Darwin knew he was afraid for his dad, but he was a tough kid, quite like his mother. As he went to the living room to sit down on the couch, the opening of the front door put him into defensive mode. His skin changed, turning thick and rough, until the person made it inside. Alex.

Darwin froze as Alex shut the door behind him, and his skin changed back to normal. They hadn't seen each other in nearly two years, yet there he was in his army fatigues, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He seemed older and more tired, which Darwin had expected, but he was still Alex, and he was finally home where he belonged.

Saying nothing, Alex dropped his bag on the floor and walked over, taking Darwin in a tight hug, just enjoying the closeness that he had missed for so long. Darwin rubbed his back soothingly as Alex buried his face in his neck. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?"

Alex reluctantly pulled away a little and looked up at him. "I wasn't expecting it. A guy named Stryker was trying to take my unit somewhere, but Raven stopped him and sent us all home."

"Stryker?" Darwin asked, recalling Tom's words from the night before. _I can turn you over to Stryker, and let you suffer before you die._

"Yeah." Alex's eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know the name?"

"He has Sean. And now I know that it's bigger than just him." Darwin let go of Alex and went to pick up the phone again. "We need to get a hold of Vi. Now."

Alex followed, understandably confused. "Where is she?"

Darwin dialed the phone again and held the receiver to his ear. "Probably doing something really, really stupid."


	4. Peace Was Never An Option

"You ever get that feeling where you just _know_ something's not going to go well? It's happening. Right now." Vi whispered to Hank as Logan parked their car in front of the Hotel Royal, where the Paris Peace Accords were occuring. The mission was to stop Raven from killing Trask, thus changing the dark future Logan had come from, but it was easier said than done.

"That's not helping," Hank huffed, exiting the car behind her. He had his own reservations about the mission as well. Appearing in the middle of a media circus. Trusting Erik not to throw a wrench in the mission. Fighting Raven...

She glanced at him as they made their way up the steps and through the entrance. "Hank...I don't want to fight her either."

Erik and Logan effortlessly took out the security guards leading to their destination. They entered the meeting room to find the room littered with unconscious bodies, and Raven with a gun pointed right at Trask.

"Raven!" Charles called out. In an instant, Stryker shot her with a taser, and she fell onto the table she had been crouched on. "Raven!"

Erik used his powers to pull the electrodes from Raven and attach them to Stryker, leaving him convulsing on the floor. Charles ran over to Raven, repeating her name softly as she recovered from the taser shot.

She smiled at the sight of him, breathing heavily. "Charles?"

He gently stroked her face. "We've come for you. Erik and I. Together."

"I never thought I'd see you again."

"I made you a promise a long time ago..."

Logan glanced down at the incapacitated Stryker, and truly recognized him for the first time. His breathing became rapid and he threw himself against the wall behind him, taking Vi and Hank's attention away from the others.

"Logan?" Vi moved closer to him. The three of them didn't notice as Erik summoned the gun an pointed it at Raven.

Raven sat up slightly. "Erik?"

Charles turned and held his hand out towards his former friend. "Erik? What are you doing?"

This caught Hank's attention, and he spun around to face Erik. Vi ignored them all and gripped Logan's shoulders tightly, attempting to bring him back to the present.

"Securing our future." Erik replied. "Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're out there, we'll never be safe."

"Erik." Hank felt the Beast beginning to claw its way out of him.

"Use your power, Charles. Stop him." Raven urged.

"He can't."

At those words, Raven turned and ran, while Hank tackled Erik to the floor. It proved useless, as Erik aimed and fired the gun with his powers.

Raven jumped out of one of the windows in an explosion of glass. Just before her landing, the single bullet struck her calf. The onlookers gasped as they took in Raven's appearance.

Inside, Erik punched Hank. Charles attacked Erik, and found himself on the wrong end of a fist as well. Erik headed towards the window, using his powers to grab the roll of film that Trask had been showing before the fight. He levitated him self up and out of the window.

"Logan! Logan wake up!" Vi yelled as she shook him violently, hoping that the action wouldn't get her stabbed.

Logan seemed to finally snap out of it. "Where am I?"

"Huh?" Charles and Vi asked at the same time.

Logan stood up and she hesitantly followed him. "How the hell did I get here?"

Charles frowned, still breathing heavily from his fight with Erik. "What? You came to us." He looked to Vi questioningly, but she seemed just as lost as he felt.

"Who are you?"

"Charles." Logan grabbed Charles' shoulder roughly. "Charles Xavier!"

"I don't know you," he replied.

"What about me?" Vi held her hands up in surrender. "Vi. We're friends, and teammates. Well, former teammates. Y'know, The X-Men? Storm, Rogue, Iceman?"

Hank stood up, attracting Logan's attention. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Annoyed, Hank growled at the man.

Charles held Hank back. "I can deal with this. Both of you just go. Stop Erik!" The two mutants nodded at each other and ran towards the window, using their own methods to make it to the ground safely.

Erik stood above Raven, ready to strike the killing blow with the bullet. Hank lunged at the man, knocking him to the cement. Vi grabbed Raven's hand and pulled her up. "Come on!" Raven slung her arm over the other woman's shoulder without protest. Vi lifted the both of them into the air to speed up the getaway.

Hank and Erik's fight moved to the large fountain, where Hank viciously pummled the other man. The back of Erik's head struck the bottom of the fountain, letting out a cloud of blood. Hank didn't hold back.

Vi landed the two of them into the rush of people trying to escape the commotion. "He's occupied for now. Just get to the closest cover you can find. I have to go help Hank!" She removed Raven's arm from her shoulders and began to float away. "Good luck." Raven looked up at her as she disappeared, and quickly turned into an older man to blend into the chaos.

As Vi landed near the fountain, various metal objects began to move and shake, causing the remaining crowd to scream. The metal pieces of the fountain crept up behind Hank as he held Erik under the water. "HANK!"

It was too late. The metal grabbed Hank by his arms and waist, lifting him off of Erik and leaving him wide open. Erik stumbled to his feet and stepped out of the fountain as the people looked on. Vi summoned the water from the fountain and made it form a bubble around Erik. He clenched his fist, and suddenly, her necklace tightened around her neck. She reached to claw at it, letting Erik go in an explosion of water.

"Pathetic." He let her breathe again, and walked away, throwing back all of the soldiers that tried to follow him.

Hank struggled against his bonds, the snapping of cameras and the gasps of the crowd making him angrier than Erik had. He finally busted loose and ran off, causing the people to scream.

Deciding it was useless to go after him, Vi flew back up to Charles and Logan, the later of whom seemed to be back to his normal self. She rubbed her neck, finding blood on her fingers. "Needless to say, he got away. We need to get the hell out of here."

"Where's Hank?" Charles asked.

"He ran off. I'm sure he'll meet up with us outside. Let's go."

* * *

" _Just hours ago, the Paris Peace Summit was rocked by the appearance of unidentified assailants, the likes of which the world has never seen. Mass hysteria has gripped the nation as people ask: Where do they come from? Will they be back? And most importantly, are they friend or foe?_ "

"This is bad." Alex stated bluntly from his place on the couch.

"Bad is an understatement, Alex." Darwin sighed heavily as he looked to the little boy who sat on the floor in front of the television, watching the fight unfold on the tiny screen.

"Is my mommy okay?" Alexander asked, sniffling.

Alex got up and went to sit down next to the boy. "Hey, your mom is a tough one. And you see that blue guy? He's your Uncle Hank, and he's a badass. They're just fine, 'Lex."

He looked up at Alex, his eyes shining with tears. "Promise?"

Alex slung his arm over the kid's shoulder. "Yeah. Promise."

He couldn't say the same for Sean.

* * *

A bright light filled Sean's vision as he opened his eyes, only to shut them again. The first thing he noticed was the gag in his mouth, which rendered him powerless. He took a moment to listen to what was going on around him. Beeping monitors, the tapping of shoes against the floor, and the most disturbing, a few screams echoing in the distance. He tried to move his hands, but the bonds around his wrists stopped him short.

"Ah, it's awake."

Sean forced his eyes open again, ignoring the light this time. Next to him stood a mustached man in a lab coat, with a serious, military man close behind. He looked down at himself. They had dressed him in white clothes and strapped him to a metal slab.

The same voice came from the mustached man's mouth. "I'm Dr. Bolivar Trask, and this is Major Stryker. You'll be spending some time with us here in my lab." Trask picked up a scalpel from a nearby tray of surgical tools and held it up, looking at it in the light for a moment before turning to Sean again.

"Shall we begin?"


	5. The Calm

Xavier Mansion

The four of them stepped through the entrance, and a few feet later, Charles stumbled to the floor.

"Charles?" Vi went over to help him to his feet. "I got you." She pulled him up and let him rest against her side.

"What happened?" Logan asked gruffly, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Why can't he walk?"

"He needs his treatment." Hank answered quickly before turning to Charles, who had begun to rub his temples. "I'll make it stop. I'll get it." The man hurried up the stairs as Charles' legs gave out again, causing Vi to decide to sit him down on the steps carefully.

"Hey, pull yourself together. It's not over yet." Logan grunted, sensitive as ever.

Charles focused on him and touched his temple. "You don't believe that."

"How do you know?"

He pointed to his legs. "As these go..." Then his temple. "...this comes back." He grabbed his head and groaned, "They all come back!"

"Charles. Hey, it's alright." Vi touched his shoulder gently in an attempt to keep him calm.

Logan sighed heavily. He had to believe there was a chance, or Charles never would. "Look, I'm still here. She's still out there. But we need your help, Charles. Not like this. I need you. We can't find Raven, not without your powers."

Hank came back down the steps, syringe in hand. "I added a little extra because you missed a dose."

Charles took the syringe from Hank, and stared at it hungrily, licking his lips.

"Charles."

He looked to Logan. He could feel the desperation emanating from the man, and the slight disappointment coming from his old friend as she stared at him, practically pleading him not to do it. His eyes flicked between the other three and the golden liquid as few times, and despite the way the promise of relief called to him, he dropped the needle to the step next to him. "Hank, do me a favor. Would you help me to my study, please?"

"Alright." Hank pulled Charles up and walked him into the study.

Logan and Vi stayed behind, exchanging a brief look.

* * *

"When was the last time you were down here?" Logan asked as the four of them headed towards Cerebro.

"The last time we went looking for students," Hank replied.

"A lifetime ago."

The iris scanner read Charles' eye. "Welcome, Professor."

The doors opened and they made their way into the huge, metal room. Their footsteps echoed along the walkway until they finally arrived at Cerebro's main console.

Hank fiddled with various buttons and dials until the console lit up. "Raven's wounded, so she won't be moving fast."

Charles picked up the headpiece and blew off a thick layer of dust. "These are muscles I haven't stretched in a long time." He placed the device on his head, and instantly, the room lit up with hundreds of red and white lights. He was connected to them. For a split second, it was bearble, but then the mutants all began to cry out and scream. "God!" Their calls quickly became louder, overwhelming the telepath.

"Charles!"

A white hot pain struck behind his eyes, and the gauges and instruments all exploded in a shower of glass. Charles ripped the helmet from his head as he tried to catch his breath.

"Charles! Charles, it's alright. I'll go check the generator." Hank turned around and left Cerebro.

Logan gave Vi a look, and she nodded to him before following Hank out of the room.

* * *

Vi caught up to Hank, he hands shoved in her pockets. "Hey."

"Why...?"

"Logan's going to try and help Charles. I'm not sure how exactly, but Logan's a stubborn bastard." Vi chuckled. She and Hank walked along each other until they reached the generator.

Hank crouched down and began to examine it. "Do you...?" He shook his head. "Nevermind."

"What?" She kneeled down next to him.

He looked over to her. "Do you remember when we used to talk about time travel theories?"

"Yeah, totally." She raised her eyebrow at him. "What's going on in that big brain of yours, Hank?"

Hank sighed and cast his gaze down to the floor. "I was just thinking...There's that theory in Quantum Physics that time is immutable, that it always corrects itself. So, what if...?"

"...we're doing all of this for nothing, and Raven is going to kill Trask no matter what, effectively dooming mutantkind to extinction?"

"Basically."

"Hank." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can't think like that. We have to believe that things can be changed, not just for our sake, but for all of mutantkind's. We can't give up now."

Hank nodded as he flipped a final switch on the generator. They both stood up and headed back towards Cerebro. "That was nicer than usual. You really have changed."

She shoved his shoulder slightly with a laugh, "Oh, shut it!"

* * *

Again, Charles sat connected to Cerebro, the other's standing behind him. Logan had apparently been successful with helping Charles, as the latter man was connected with Raven. The others could only hear Charles' side of the conversation, but it was enough.

"The girl I grew up with wasn't capable of killing. She was good, fair, full of compassion."

Logan had grown tired of the back and forth. "Shut her down, Charles. Get in her head."

"She's not letting me. I'm barely holding on. I'm not strong enough yet." He went back to speaking to Raven. "I know what Trask has done, but killing him will not bring them back. It will set you on a path from which there is no return. An endless cycle of killing, us and them, until there is nothing left. But we can stop it, right now, you and I. You just have to come home." There was a short pause. "You do? Then wherever you go, I will find you. And Raven, if you make me, I will stop you." A few moments later, he removed the helmet from his head and set it back on the console, defeated.

"Where is she?" Logan asked.

"An airport. Boarding a plane. She could be going anywhere." Charles rubbed his eyes, exhausted from the strain, and the knowledge that he failed yet again.

"Get some rest, Charles. We'll track her in the morning and find out exactly where she's going."

* * *

Vi made her way down the hallway to Logan's room, where she saw Hank turning away and heading her direction. "Good night."

"'Night, Hank."

She leaned against the door frame and found Logan laying in the bed, smoking a cigar. "What was that about?"

Logan took a puff and blew out the smoke, "He wanted to know about the future. I'm guessing he's not the only one."

"Nope. So, start from the beginning." She sat on the end of the bed and watched as he thought it over.

Logan sat up, removing the cigar from his teeth. "Pretty soon after you disappeared, things started going to shit. In 2015, some Friends of Humanity assholes killed Furball. Dragged him out of his house and beat him to death. You and your husband tried to help him, but they killed you too. That's what started all the mutants riots, and that's what got the government to start sending out Sentinels. They captured mutants and put them in concentration camps, and eventually started going after the humans that helped us. Most of the X-Men are either locked up or dead."

Vi nodded slowly, taking a moment to process it all. "Who's there with you now?"

"Charles, Erik, Kitty, and Iceman. Storm and Tin Man are outside fighting off the sentinels with a few kids you haven't met yet."

"The last of the X-Men." She looked down at her hands. Things had been bad for mutants after Alcatraz, but she never could have imagined it could end up like that. "What about my son?"

"Sentinels killed him a few years back." Logan sighed as he saw her face drop. "Look, kid. We're gonna make it so none of that ever happens."

Holding back the tears that suddenly threatened to spill, she nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"You wanted to know how I know your dad." He offered, trying to change the subject. "Your aunt, her sons were killed, and she lost it. She brought them and your dad back before we stopped her."

Vi shook her head with a frown. "That doesn't make sense. All Wanda can do is alter probability, she can't bring people back to life."

"That was what we thought too, but she's powerful." He took another puff of the cigar.

Suddenly, she remembered what he had mentioned in the car in D.C. "Did she bring Charles back, too?"

"No. He put his mind into some brain dead guy."

"I can't believe that that's only the second craziest thing you just told me." She chuckled quietly, as she stood up from the bed. "Well, I'm gonna check in with Sean then get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah." Logan watched her head to the door, tilting his head as he listened in, hearing that same sound he had heard on the plane a few days ago. It grew fainter as she disappeared down the hallway. Logan snuffed out his cigar in the ashtray.

* * *

Vi flipped the light on in the kitchen as she entered. She made a beeline towards the phone, and as she went to grab it, it began to ring. It had to be Sean. Who else would be calling the mansion? With a speed that rivaled Peter's, she brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Sean. I'm sorry, I was going to call sooner, but today was crazy-"

"Vi, it's Darwin."

That stopped her in her tracks. His voiced sounded grim, sad.

"Darwin?" She worried the cord of the phone between her fingertips. "What happened?"

"'Lex is safe here at my place, but Sean is-"

Vi's heart began to beat faster. "Darwin, what happened?!," she nearly yelled.

"Sean's cousin attacked your apartment last night. I got 'Lex out, but he took Sean. Said he was going to give him to some guy named Stryker. Stryker also tried to take Alex in Vietnam before Raven stopped him..."

Darwin's words faded out of her mind to be replaced by only one. _Stryker._

"Oh god. Oh god. He's gonna kill him." She collapsed to the floor, nearly dropping the phone. Her chest began to tighten and tears pricked at her eyes. The memories of her first encounter with Stryker, of the events of Alkali Lake, flooded her mind. Stryker had treated Logan, Kurt, Scott, and countless others like his own personal guinea pigs, and now he had Sean, the father of her child and the man she loved. She barely registered Darwin's voice calling her name from the other end.

Suddenly, a pair of hands roughly grabbed her shoulders. "Vi! What's going on?!"

"Stryker has Sean. He's gonna kill him. He's gonna kill him." She sobbed, barely able to see Hank through her flooded eyes.

Hank rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her. "Look, Stryker is working with Trask. If we keep Raven from killing Trask, there's a chance we can get him back, okay? But you need to calm down before you bring the house down on us."

She blinked at him in confusion, until she noticed the cabinets shaking opening and all the dishes falling to the floor in an explosion of glass and porcelain. She breathed deeply in an attempt to calm herself. Several moments later, the earthquake subsided and she slumped against one of the lower cabinet doors, exhausted. With a sigh, she brought the phone back to her ear. "I have to go back home. My son..."

"Is safe with Alex and I," Darwin finished from the other end. "Go find Sean."

Looking at Hank, she nodded slowly. She had so much running through her brain that she barely registered the fact that Alex was back home. "Okay...okay. Is he awake?"

"Yeah. He's been begging me to talk to you since I called." His voice got quieter for a second, as if he had just removed the phone from his face. "'Lex, your mom wants to talk to you."

A few seconds later, Alexander's small voice rang from the other end. "Mommy?!"

"Hi, 'Lex." She smiled despite her tears and lingering feeling of panic.

"A bad man took daddy. I'm scared." His voice cracked in a sob.

Her breath caught in her throat as she tried not to break down at her son's words. "I know, baby. I know. But I'm going to find him, okay? I'm going to bring him back."

"Pinky promise?" He whispered.

"Pinky promise." There was a chance that her promise would be broken, but she couldn't bear to think of that now. "I just need you to be strong, and be good for Darwin and Alex. They'll keep you safe until we get home."

"Okay." He sniffled quietly. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, honey. Your dad and I will be home before you know it. Now, I need to talk to Uncle Darwin again." Once the phone was handed off, she spoke again. "Look, this is going to get dangerous. If anything happens-"

Alex cut her off. "We know. That's kind of the point of being his godparents. Just make sure it doesn't come to that."

"Got it." Though she had meant to speak to Darwin, it was nice hearing her old friend's voice again. "And Summers? I'm glad you're back home."

"Me, too."

The tiny smile disappeared from her face as she stood up and placed the phone back where it belonged.

"Are you alright?" Hank finally asked.

"As alright as someone can be in this situation. All I want is to get Sean back and kick Stryker's ass into next week." She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. "Man, I haven't been this pissed off in a long time."

"We'll get him back. You just need to get some rest."

"Thank you, Hank."

* * *

A loud knock came from her door and she shot up, still tangled in the covers. She hadn't been able to get to sleep, but she had assumed the others were resting up. Apparently not. "What's up?"

Hank swung the door open as she flipped on the lamp next to the bed. "Raven was here. I screwed up."

At that, she jumped out of bed and followed him to get the others. Once they made it to Cerebro, the other three watched as Hank picked up the broken helmet. "Well we can't track her now."

"She's cut her ties."

Hank hung his head for a moment until a thought struck him. "I saw on the news last night that there's going to be an announcement in Washington this afternoon about a new protocol for mutants."

Vi watched as Charles looked up at Hank and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sounds like our best bet."

* * *

Now fully dressed, the other three entered the room that Hank brought them to. It was full of screens, rolls of film, and a lot of cords. "I set this system I designed to record any news about Paris over all three networks and PBS."

"All three? Wow." Logan snarked in a tone that would have made Vi snort if she weren't so pissed.

"And PBS. Look what I found." Hank fiddled with the larger screen until it showed a news anchor standing on the White House lawn.

 _"Tomorrow, in front of the White House, the President will make his announcement. He'll be joined by Secretary of Defense Laird, and has even sought the help of renowned scientist, Bolivar Trask, his special advisor to help combat this mutant issue. The White House has asked-"_ Hank paused the screen and turned towards the others.

"Raven doesn't realize that if she kills Trask at an event like that, with the whole world watching..." Charles trailed off.

"Then I came a long way for nothing."

After a moment, Hank spoke again. "And there's more bad news. I saw in a report that they found traces of her blood in Paris. For all we know, they already have her DNA. She's all they'd need-"

"To create the Sentinels of the future."

The four of them stayed quiet, mulling over the situation, before Hank broke the silence. "There's a theory in Quantum Physics, that time is immutable." Vi sighed, knowing where he was going with this. "It's like a river, you can throw a pebble into it, create a ripple, but the current always corrects itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps flowing in the same direction."

"What are you trying to say?" Logan asked.

"What I'm saying is, what if the war is inevitable? What if she's meant to kill Trask? What if this is just simply who she is?"

"Just because one stumbles and loses their way, it doesn't mean they're lost forever." Charles answered softly. "I don't believe that theory, Hank, and I cannot believe that that is who she is. Ready the plane. We're going to Washington."


End file.
